Tehran, Belarus Determined to Expand Economic Ties

In the meeting, on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Second China International Import Expo in the Chinese port city of Shanghai, Rahmani and Khotko underlined that Tehran and Minsk are determined to boost ties in all economic areas.

The Iranian minister stressed the importance of trade and economic cooperation between Iran and Belarus, adding such cooperation can be fulfilled in the fields of trade, industry, agriculture, medicine, and science.

Referring to membership of Iran in Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU), Rahmani said that the membership would provide a big opportunity for Iran's cooperation with all members of the union.

He suggested the export of beef and agricultural products from Iran to Belarus while calling for the removal of obstacles in the way of banking and financial cooperation.

The Iranian minister also called for the strengthening of cooperation and coordination between the Belarusian and Iranian companies.

He put the volume of the bilateral trade between the two countries to be currently standing at about $ 15 million while stressing that the fields of cooperation could be greatly expanded through using the existing potentials of the two countries.

The Belarusian minister, for his part, said that Belarus and Iran are currently cooperating in agriculture and trade fields mostly. He added that Iran is currently exporting fruit and nuts to Belarus, while the country did not export any goods to Belarus until 2017.

He expressed hope that the two countries would be able to increase their relations, expressing his happiness with a good opportunity provided by Iran to export Belarusian goods and products.

In September, Iranian Ambassador to Belarus Mostafa Oveisi underlined that Tehran and Minsk have abundant capacities to broaden their bilateral relations in different fields.

“The existing capacities in the area of Eurasian Economic Union and corridor plans have to be used to boost cooperation between the two countries,” Oveisi said in a meeting with the State Secretary of Union State of Russia and Belarus Grigory Rapota.

The two sides, meantime, discussed the latest regional developments as well as the course of multilateral cooperation.

Late in July, Iranian exporters reassured Belarusian firms that they will meet the demands of the European country in areas of food and agricultural products.

Iran trade delegation visiting Minsk voiced their country's readiness for meeting the needs of the country in the fields of dried fruits, cereals and vegetables, given Iran's exports capabilities in the areas.

Chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Massoud Khansari and several tradesmen met with Belarus deputy minister of agriculture and directors of the ministry.

During the meeting, both sides highlighted their capacities in the fields of agriculture and food industries and stressed the need for optimal use of their capabilities.

Oveysi had announced in March that Tehran and Minsk had a year of growing relations in the past Persian year (March 21, 2018- March 20-2019), highlighting that the volume of bilateral trade grew by 4 times, compared with the corresponding period in the last year.

Oveysi said that the two countries' relations are improving in all fields, adding that the volume of trade exchange between Iran and Belarus in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2019) has been four times more than the previous year.

Iran and Belarus's trade balance was $154.1 million in the past Iranian calendar year which is unprecedented in the past 25 years, Oveysi noted.

The envoy said that Iran and Belarus were in talks to finalize bilateral agreements which would prepare the ground to reach the target of one billion dollars trade balance. 

He said that Iran and Belarus had potentials to cooperate in fields of industry, trade, oil, agriculture, pharmacy and medical equipment.